How Did Elizabethan Playwright Christopher Marlowe Get the Nickname 'Kit'?
How Christopher Marlowe Became 'Kit': The Linguistics of Tudor Nicknames
To modern ears, 'Kit' sounds like an independent, modern-sounding name or perhaps a shortened form of Katherine. However, in sixteenth-century England, Kit was the ubiquitous, standard hypocorism (pet form) for the given name Christopher.
Historical Origins and Rhyming Slang
During the Tudor and Elizabethan periods, English naming conventions relied heavily on familiarizing suffixes and rhyming alterations. This linguistic phenomenon operated similarly to how 'Robert' became 'Hob', 'Dob', and eventually 'Bob', or how 'William' transformed into 'Will' and 'Bill'.
For Christopher, the evolution typically followed a phonetic abbreviation path: Christopher was shortened to Christ, which was then rhymed or altered with a 'k' sound to produce Kit. Parish records, legal documents, and personal letters from the era frequently drop formal names in favor of these familiar variants, reflecting the close-knit and often informal nature of Elizabethan social circles.
Literary Citations and Usage
Christopher Marlowe himself—along with his contemporaries—lived in a world where using his nickname was a mark of camaraderie and peer recognition among university wits and theater folk. While official documents, such as his matriculation at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, or his baptismal record in Canterbury, duly registered him as Christopher, his contemporaries and modern biographers affectionately use Kit to evoke the rebellious, vibrant spirit of the man who wrote Doctor Faustus and Edward II.
Modern Nuance
Today, the historical connection between Christopher and Kit has largely faded from public consciousness, leading many to view 'Kit' either as a standalone name or a girl's name short for Katherine or Kristen. Yet, understanding that Marlowe was 'Kit' bridges the gap between the distant, dusty academic portrait of an Elizabethan dramatist and the flesh-and-blood, tavern-brawling poet known intimately by his peers.